What it is: A fictionalized account of the last decade of writer Eric Blair's (a.k.a. George Orwell's) life, which reveals the events and experiences that influenced some of the author's best-known works.

Why you might like it: This compelling novel places its complex protagonist in a race against time (and tuberculosis) as he struggles to finish Nineteen Eighty-Four.

What it's about: At age 7, Honolulu resident Rachel Kalama contracts leprosy (Hansen's disease). Forcibly separated from her family, she spends the next several decades in the Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement on the Hawaiian island of Moloka'i, where she builds a life for herself.

Further reading: To learn more about the history of the Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement and its 8,500-plus inhabitants, pick up John Tayman's nonfiction book, The Colony.

What it's about: In 1255 England, 17-year-old Sarah becomes an anchoress of the Church of St. Juliana. Confined to a tiny chamber measuring nine by seven paces, Sarah prays that her cell will protect her from life's dangers. Alas, even stone walls can't keep the world at bay.

Want a taste? "Here I will stay forever; this is the home I have chosen."

Try this next: For another lyrical, reflective novel about the life of a medieval anchoress, check out Mary Sharratt's Illuminations, about Hildegard of Bingen.

Featuring: Christina Olson, a disabled woman who lives a solitary life on her family's farm in rural Maine before befriending artist Andrew Wyeth and becoming the subject of his iconic painting, "Christina's World."

For fans of: engaging and richly detailed historical novels that imagine the creation of famous artworks, such as Gloria Goldreich's The Bridal Chair or Maureen Gibbon's Paris Red.

What it's about: In 1943, journalist John Easley embeds with a bomber crew headed for the Japanese-occupied Aleutian Islands. Shot down over the island of Attu, John and aviator Karl Bitburg must survive while evading enemy soldiers.

Why you might like it: Focusing on the only World War II battle to be fought on North American soil, this compelling novel movingly recreates a little-known historical event through the eyes of its sympathetic characters.

What it's about: An emotionally scarred World War I veteran becomes a lighthouse keeper on a small island off the coast of Australia. When a boat washes ashore carrying an infant girl, he and his wife decide to keep the baby -- a decision with far-reaching consequences.

You might also like: Karen Viggers' The Lightkeeper's Wife, another moving novel about a lighthouse keeper who starts an unconventional family on an isolated island off the coast of Australia.